The day was sunny and hot. The crowd was relaxed and having fun. The kids were waiting for their annual candy scramble. It could only be the Bethlehem (NY) Memorial Day Parade. I took my place at the Middle School and had fun taking photos of the parade marchers and watching participants.

Along for the fun were my wife, our eldest daughter and our three grandsons plus about 3,000 of our neighbors. Parking was at a premium, se we walked the one mile to the site where I stood and took pictures.

Marching Eagles HS Band

The parade is decidedly non commercial with mostly kids (and their parents) marching plus a few local bands, the American Legion and some local veterans, a few vintage cars and of course, lots of fire trucks. We have been attending the parade for as long as our kids were old enough to appreciate it and march in it, too. And I am sure the event goes back longer than that. I don’t know when it first started.

The Yankee Doodle Band

The Yankee Doodle Band is a longstanding part of the parade. Officially called the Fort Crailo American Legion Yankee Doodle Band, the group was formed in 1928 as a Drum and Bugle corps and as a tribute to our veterans and military men and women. It performs all over the state and country. It has had a number of notable performances including escorting Governor Nelson Rockefeller into his inaugural ball.

Shriner Clown

The Shriners provide clowns and funny cars to the festive event. These folks come from the Cyprus Shrine of Albany. It was established in the 1877. The Bethehem Central School Marching Band generally participates. Located in Delmar, NY, the High School serves the Town of Bethlehem community. The school district was formed in 1930. The band is nicknamed the “Marching Eagles”.

Albany Police Pipe Band

Another not to be missed musical feature is the Albany Police Pipe Band. Formed in 1984, the band consists solely of police officers. It has been a star of many parades throughout the area and competes in band contests. This Memorial Day, the band performed in the Albany Memorial Day Parade in the early morning and then came over to us in the late morning. Love that sound.

See the complete set of photos of the day at my Smugmug Gallery. All photos were taken with the Canon 28-135mm lens and post-processed in LR, PS and Nik filters.

The Empire State Plaza

On Friday, I joined with some 10 other members of the Capital District Photography Meet-up Group to photograph the Empire State Plaza and buildings at night. Officially known as the Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza, the complex consists of  State government buildings and public spaces both at street level and in a subterranean Concourse.

Legislative Bldg, State Capitol, Justice Bld.

When I first came to live in the Albany area in 1966, the “South Mall” as it was known in the beginning, was already well under construction. It was finally completed 10 years later.  According to Gov. Rockefeller, the inspiration for the Plaza’s construction was an outgrowth of an aerial visit over the blighted area by Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands (and the governor) who was in Albany to celebrate the Dutch heritage of the area.

Coring Tower, Cultural Ed. Bldg, Agency Bldgs.

The Plaza houses some of the state government staff in a vast network of office structures including the Corning Tower (named after the long term mayor of Albany), the theater complex called the Egg, four office (“Agency”) buildings, the Legislative Building, the Justice Building and the Swan Street Building (which includes the State Motor Vehicle HQ).

At the eastern end is the State Cultural Education Building which also houses the State Museum and State Library. At the western end is the State Capitol (although not actually part of the Plaza). The Concourse houses an extensive collection of modern art originally assembled by Gov. Rockefeller.

The State Capitol at Night

The Egg

All these images were made with the Canon 10-22mm lens on a tripod with remote release. Post-processing in Lightroom and Photoshop. Other images are on display in the gallery.

This photo was taken inside a local pizza shop with the lovely pizza man statue providing the interesting foreground point of view. A bit of post-processing in LR and PS.

I am learning that for good UWA photos you must get in close and have a foreground object. Here I used the statue to lead the eye into the shop.

I also was fortunate that the shop owner was looking at me a the same angle as the statue. I think this gives the image more interest.

Taken with the Canon 10-22mm at 10mm.